Bat.



L. CORY.

BAT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24. 1914.

Patented July 4, 1916.

lNVENTOR WITNESSES L a C ATTO R N EY LOBE'ITO CORY, OF SHELBYVILLE, INDIANA.

Bar;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1916.

Application filed November 24, 1914. I Serial No. 873,783.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LORETTO CORY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Shelbyville, in the county of Shelby and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Bat, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to bats, and is designed to provide a bat with which certain ball games may be played.

In accordance with the present invention the bat is provided with a broad fiat body or striking portion, from one end of which there extends a handle suitably shaped to be grasped by the hand of the user. The body portion of the bat is made longer than Wide and adjacent to the handle the body of the bat is traversed by a hole or passage leading to a net forming a receptacle for a ball, and attached to the body of the bat so as to depend therefrom.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part I of this specification, with the further understanding that while the drawings show a practical form of the invention, the latter is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings, but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention.

In the drawings:Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bat constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section with the handle portion shown in elevation.

In the drawings there is shown a bat comprising-a body portion 1 and a handle portion 2 extending from one end of the body portion, and preferably though not necessaril in one piece therewith. The body portlon l is made broad. and flat and may be approximately twice as long as wide, although strict adherence to such particular proportions is not demanded. The handle 2 is made of convenient size and shape tobe readily grasped by the hand. Adjacent to the handle 2,-that is, between the center of the body portion and the handle,the body portion is pierced by a passage 3 of a diameter to permit a ball of suitable size to freely pass therethrough. There is also provided a basket or receptacle 4 which may be made of cotton or linen netting, and

this basket is of conical form with one on The portion of the bat on the side of the passage 3 remote from the handle 2 is quite road and flat and is'intended to support a ball during certain stages of a game for which the bat is adapted. With the ball supported upon theouter fiat portion of the body of the bat an appropriate movement of the bat will cause the ball to ascend into the air, and on its fall the player endeavors to catch the ball in the flexible basket 4 by so locating the bat that the ball will drop I through the passage 3 into the basket and so be retained. Should the player fail to so place the bat that it will pass into the basket, the endeavor is made to catch the ball upon the outer flat face of the bat so as to again propel the ball'into the air. If the play be made'by a single person the ball is drlven up into the air and the endeavor is made to catch the ball in the basket, but if two or more players be engaged in the game then the ball may be propelled from player to player by striking theball-with the outer fiat end of the bat, and in accordance with the manner of playing the game endeavor may be made at rearranged times to catch the ball in the asket portion of the bat, while failure to follow the prescribed plays may count as a forfeit.

With so broad a striking face as is vided by the flat longitudinally extende bat body, it is not at all diflicult to strike the ball and propel it away from the hat, but it becomes considerably more difiicult to so place the bat as to cause a swiftly moving ball to pass through the opening 3 and lodge in the pocket or creased by placing the basket close to the handle. I I

While'ordinarily the bat is made of wood, and preferably, though not. necessarily, of one piece of wood, other materials may be employed where found suitable for the purose. I

By making the basket of some soft mateasket 4, and this difiiculty is in rial, such as cotton or linen thread in the form of netting, the basket or pocket is readily folded into compact form and may lodge traversed by a ball, and a basket of soft flexible material havingits mouth end attached to the body portion about the margin of the passage, that portion of the body beyond the passage being designed to support the ball and also to strike the same, and the basket being capable of folding compactly within the passage.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LORETTO CORY.

Witnesses:

FLoRA E. SNYDER, K. M. Home. 

